The scale hit her then. Two million clubs. Half destined for oblivion by season's end. Half erased from every record. Lost in thought, her crest which was her club badge pulsed stronger than fear. A system notification appeared.
[System Notice: A new domain has been granted.]
The floor split open beneath her. A new virtual section was added and the entire realm was notified. Fans—her fans, who had gathered across mortal cities to whisper Eclipse Shadows' name—were drawn upward, lifted into a glowing rift.
A virtual divine space unfolded above the Organisation: a shimmering stadium under construction, scaffolding made of star-steel, stands filling with silhouettes of watching mortals. Tickets appeared. Each tickets burned on their foreheads, proof of devotion.
Only those marked by tickets—friends or foes—could teleport to that marvel or rather universe wonder. The entire verse are aware Eclipse Shadows will have a marvel stadium. Games will have to be hosted on their home stadium.
Everyone was expecting a visit to such wonder stadium. Divine Football Association didn't disappoint. They were also interested to study such stadium.
Match day arrived.
Already Joan saw flickers of rival banners, their supporters arriving to jeer and clash in chants that echoed like storms.
Her stadium was only 1% complete. Bare skeletons of terraces. A pitch of starlight with no grass. But it was theirs. Although shabby, most are aware it will be a grand stadium in the sky.
Before match day, Joan visited the Divine Market. Her plan was to gear and improve her squad with amenities.
The Divine Market was less forgiving. She has to first try her system marketplace before she would proceed to the marketplace.
Joan scrolled through ledgers that had multiplied overnight. Celestia Credits flickered in meagre lines—two credits promised per match for recognition. Glory Bonds, of course, stood at zero. Fate Shards—her eyes burned just thinking of them—zero.
But her Obsidian Marks glowed defiantly.
[Current Balance: 331 OM]
They rose not through wealth or divine favour, but through the loyalty of her ragtag squad. After training, Mila and Lyra had dragged half the team to street kitchens, playing music, dancing, laughing. Fans followed. They believed. Her Obsidian Marks accumulated like shadows gathering at dusk but the system store was ruthless. She shamefully left after buying basic squad kits.
Since, she was interested and invested at upgrading her squad. She visited the bazaars. A Divine Market belonging to the Divine Soccer Organisation.
In the bazaars, brokers scoffed. "CC? Worthless scribbles," one merchant spat. They got a lot of it and can purchase any of their desires. Joan was engrossed in their negotiations but was stopped by a stranger, "Sell me your winger, Kai. Fifty CC. With that, you could buy proper boots."
Joan refused. What an insult? Although, the season is yet to begin. The Transfer window or market for players and staff are ongoing and for a while. Her squad recent performances place a scout radar on her ragtag squad.
Her refusal was not quite taken. She quickly met a roadblock. She couldn't buy any requirements needed for her club. She couldn't complain.
The Pantheon's system called her an amateur and kid with gigantic pride. But faith had its own currency.
Back to match day,
Her rival arrived in a stadium carved from celestial star iron. The Ironbreak Juniors, a brutal side of coal-miners' sons, were known for bone-crushing tackles and endless lungs.
The stands shook as rival fans teleported in, their tickets blazing. Joan's own section was smaller but louder—dozens of mortals who had sold everything just for one match pass, chanting Eclipse Shadows until their throats bled.
[Match Day System Boost Activated: Fan Faith +17 OM]
The whistle blew.
The Juniors came like a storm. Their striker, Bram "Ironjaw," rammed into Darius within the first minute, nearly shattering ribs. Their midfield pressed in waves. Joan's squad staggered, and she felt the system dashboard trembling:
[Morale: 84% → 72%]
[Stamina Drain: +12% in first 10 minutes]
Panic threatened her mind. Then she opened the tactics tab.
[Divine Tactic: Chaos Eclipse – Active]
The pitch itself seemed to ripple. Kai began dribbling not in straight lines, but in broken patterns—his feints turning into spirals. Mila ghosted into the box, unseen. Even Lyra and Sylas—the twin tricksters—began swapping positions without warning, confusing markers.
By the 33rd minute, Mila struck. A shadow-strike from twenty yards, a goal that bent physics.
The Juniors roared back. Ironjaw equalised off a corner, shattering Rook's nose in the process.
The final twenty minutes were war. Zara, their captain in goal, deflected three shots that should have been certain goals. Juno sprinted down the flank until his legs cramped. Finally, in the 89th, Orion leapt above three defenders and smashed home a header.
2–1.
The stadium erupted. Their fans howled, teleporting fireworks into the astral sky.
[Victory.
+2 CC earned.
+19 OM earned.
Player Loyalty Gains: Mila +4, Zara +2, Orion +3.
Talent Repair Progress: 2.7% → 3.1%]
Joan stood still, trembling. A first victory. Against the Organisation's league, against two million rivals.
The second match came too soon. Howling Wolves, a side notorious for their cursed chemistry. Their fans chanted in unison like a pack baying for blood.
Joan's players looked drained. The market had offered no miracle cures; only Celestials with CC could afford golden healers or stamina potions. All Joan could give was faith.
Before kickoff, she spent 50 OM.
[Obsidian Marks Spent → +5 Team Morale]
Her players felt it immediately. The bruises hurt less. The fear dimmed.
The match was chaos. The Wolves played dirty, biting tackles, pulling shirts, fouling with impunity. Their divine referee—clearly biased toward her team—looked away.
By halftime, Eclipse Shadows trailed 0–2. Draeven, her fiery striker, nearly walked off in fury.
Joan clenched her fist. "Faith, not favour."
In the 61st, Mila unleashed a miracle pass. Lyra, laughing even as his ankle bled, flicked it over two defenders. Sylas volleyed. Goal.
The Wolves struck back, 3–1. The fans mocked, chanting "Shadows fade."
But the system pulsed.
[Critical Match Event Detected. Potential Fate Shard in progress.]
Joan's veins burned. She screamed for Chaos Eclipse to unleash. Her squad responded. Zara saved a penalty. Orion rose again—3–2.
Final minute. Mila stole the ball, surged alone, three Wolves at her back. She slipped, stumbled—then fired from thirty yards.
The ball screamed into the top corner. 3–3.
The whistle blew. The stadium convulsed.
[Miracle Draw Achieved.
+1 Fate Shard Generated.
+23 OM earned.
Player Loyalty Gains: Mila +10 (Loyalty now 78).
Hidden Gems Feature: Unlocked.]
Joan's breath caught. A Fate Shard. She cradled it in her mind, glowing like a shard of destiny itself. She was pleased though her talent made no improvement.
The third match came against the Silver Talons, youth wing of the legendary Golden Talons. They were swift, technical, arrogant—favoured to crush the Ashen Ranks.
But Joan had studied them. One player in particular: Halvor. A defender cast out for defying orders. Potential rank A. She had already added him to her squad, though whispers said the Talons demanded his return.
The stadium crackled with tension. Tonight she was at her rival territory. Rival fans flooded in, their banners mocking Eclipse Shadows as "vultures feeding on scraps."
Halvor stood in defence, trembling. His Loyalty: 27. One mistake, and he could walk away forever.
The Talons dominated possession, stringing passes with celestial grace. By the 20th minute, they led 1–0. By the 40th, 2–0.
Joan closed her eyes. The system whispered.
[Hidden Gems Activated.]
Since she won't locate star players with it. She has to locate man of the match and boost him with her talent. Her screen flickered, showing player auras. Most were dim, cracked. But one shimmered unexpectedly—Eryndor, the one-eyed goalkeeper she had taken in. His aura blazed as he caught a shot no mortal keeper should have seen.
The save shifted everything. Rook rallied. Darius steadied. Mila and Kai countered in bursts of chaos.
In the 57th, Halvor rose for a corner and smashed a header into the net. Against his former club.
The fans roared, divided between betrayal and triumph. His Loyalty surged: 27 → 62.
By the 80th, Lyra equalised with a trick free-kick. 2–2.
The Talons came desperate, but Chaos Eclipse thrived in disorder. Shadows danced across the pitch, every tackle sparking OM.
The final whistle: 2–2.
[Draw.
+2 CC earned.
+14 OM earned.
Halvor Loyalty +35.]
Three matches. One win, two draws. Unbeaten. Their name rising across the Ashen Ranks.
The Pantheon scoffed, claiming luck. Rival managers whispered about buying Mila or Orion. But Joan's squad felt something else: faith knitting them together.
The Obsidian Marks stacked higher: 354. Enough to strengthen loyalty further.
Her fan base in the virtual divine space expanded to 2%. New empty spaces appeared, filled with faces who had sold everything for tickets. Rival fans still mocked, but her section will roar louder every match.
At night, Joan stood beneath the Void Pitch. The Fate Shard burned in her hand, a fragment of miracle. Should she spend it to skip a league? Or hold it, gambling on greater miracles to come?
The pyramid of leagues towered above, one million steps to promotion. Yet for the first time, Joan felt the impossible tug of destiny.
Her broken talent whispered again: Faith is heavier than credits. Shadows grow in light's arrogance. Keep climbing.
And Joan, smiling, answered:
"We'll not just climb. We'll eclipse them all."